


A History of the Sweet Valley Cinematic Universe

by MrToddWilkins



Series: Fannish scripts [2]
Category: Actor RPF, Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal
Genre: Alternate History
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:08:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23729545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrToddWilkins/pseuds/MrToddWilkins
Series: Fannish scripts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689898





	1. The first moves

.....The Sweet Valley universe can be said to have begun with the publication of the first book, _Double Love,_ in April 1982,but even as the books hit shelves,plans were forming for adaptations. As early as the end of 1981even before _Double Love_ was published,Pascal’s husband John began sounding out TV studios for a show.

The first Sweet Valley adaptation was a series of audio cassettes,covering the first four books,which came out at the end of 1982. Elizabeth Wakefield was voiced by Lauren Johnson,Jessica Wakefield by Jodie Henry,Cara Walker by Claudia Wells,Bruce Patman by Nick Collins,and Lila Fowler by Grace Renfrew. Future SVH actor Blythe Gleason got her start voicing Robin Wilson. Winston Egbert’s voice actor,Michael Dandridge,would later act alongside Tom Hanks in _Apollo 13......_

In July 1982,NBC executive Harry Sullivan approached Pascal with the possibility of a show for the 1983 fall season. The Pascals accepted,signing the contract on August 15,1982. A cinematic universe had been born which endures to the present day and shows no signs of petering out anytime soon.


	2. The cast: the Wakefields

One of the first things the Sweet Valley team had to hash out was: who would play the Wakefield twins?  
John and Francine Pascal knew that they wanted a pair of actual identical twins for the role. This would save on production costs. Accordingly enough,John moved quickly,canvassing his Hollywood and New York friends who were married. He also finagled his friend Pete Thomas into narrating a trailer for the show.

In late September, John got a callback on the casting. Damian Rivers,a friend of his,brought his twin daughters April and Lianne,14,to work. John saw them and,as he recalled later,"I knew they were perfect for the role."

April and Lianne Rivers were born on April 16,1968, in Ventura,CA. The only children of Damian and Olivia (Bell) Rivers, they had started acting in commercials in the late '70s. They were also top of their class at Buena High School.  
In exchange for the twins being signed,on October 4,1982,the Buena High administration agreed to let the NBC camera crews use their school as the real life SVH. Garden Grove High School would be utilized for interior shots.

For Ned Wakefield, John had only one actor in mind:Tom Hanks. Having represented the affable young actor for 3 years,John knew his comedic and dramatic potential. "Tom would shine in this role:I knew so because of his experience on screen and stage. It would give him,if all went well,a starting point for later roles,and if it flopped,he would still have an interesting piece of TV history on his résume." Francine offered Hanks the role on October 7,1982. He accepted and moved to Simi Valley.

The casting of Alice Wakefield was also quick and easy. Blair Brown actually told the New York Times (September 19,1982) that she was willing to do "almost anything" to be in the show. John agreed,signing her on September 30,but on two conditions:she would dye her hair blonde,and she would be credited as Bonnie Brown.

Finally,there remained to be cast Steven Wakefield,the twins' brother. In his turn,Tom Hanks recommended Michael Link,a young actor he had roomed with before. After a quick screen test,Link was officially cast on October 12.


End file.
